Birch-bark Fire Arrows - the power and making of

Hello and warm welcome to witnessing an unparalleled and likely unprecedented tinning technique, In this segment, we'll explore how such a structure would actually function as a heating stove. In this segment, you will see several practical shooting tests, where the aim is to get a few targets to actually and verifiably catch fire by using these arrows. So that the true nature, character, and the beauty and horror evoked by the craftsmanship of the tombstones might fully emerge, We carry out all the shootings in the dark. I use several different types of springs, whose stiffness ranges up to 80 pounds. But first, a bit about the structure of these and other fireplaces. The historical rags used in the manufacture of pulp often contained fabric saturated with animal fat, oil, or lard a new kind of fabric, later also called calico or gingham. This assembly is then attached around or inside special-shaped, pointed tips. And so I began to consider the possible northern primitive version, which could be implemented using simple and readily available natural materials. And the final result is here. The arrow's burning material is pine wood and nothing but pine wood. These represent a kind of primitive flintknapping technique. Was anything like this used long ago? We don't know. But I know these simple fireplaces work surprisingly well. Now let's see exactly how to make birch bark tea. How they actually work in practice and what power output lies within them. The Koivuntuohella has a couple of notable features that this laminated timber technique exploits. First of all, it of course ignites easily and burns very well. Secondly, when returning, the tuohi tends to twist itself into a bundle toward its own outer surface. This implies that once the arrowhead is properly attached to the shaft, They twisted tightly together on their return, forming a solid mass around each other and the arrow shaft. They remain in place also while the arrow is in flight. Yes, that's how it's actually done. A blunt-tipped arrow and two wooden arrowheads are needed, with a hole drilled through its center for the arrow shaft to pass through. The palava element goes between these wooden pieces in the arrow shaft. In addition, of course, that is needed, preferably long and running horizontally as strips. This first wooden section is extremely important, and both of these must be securely fastened in place. This first section of the bow partly protects the shooter's hand and also prevents the arrow from being drawn too far. Also make sure to keep the burning element in place as the arrow sets off on its journey. A few individual pieces are placed here on the floor, arranged into that formation. They are positioned so that they twist back toward the tip of the arrow. Next, we proceed step by step to the core of the combustion technology, which is the greatest secret and innovation of this combustion technique. For this, we need longer strips of burlap, which will be formed into nested cylinders. I saw it like that. First, make a full-length cut across the top of the tuohi strip. Wrap the outer surface around the roller and pull the end through the file, so the entire assembly stays intact. Thus, we have the first cylinder, which is then pushed onto the shaft. Let's make another one a bit larger. Place another cushion on top of the previous one. We'll continue like this until we have about five nested cylinders. No. There it is—a ready-made tuohilieriö ball. Several individual pieces of driftwood are also placed on top of it. Yes, these are arranged so that they twist back toward the nose end when returning. We simply insert another wooden strip to hold the whole assembly in place. And finally, of course, the tip is added. There it is. I've had enough of this nonsense, so next we'll move on to actual action. Up, out, and fire. Yes, that's where it starts. The first firework of the evening is lit and fired. In this first demonstration, I simply fire arc shots into the darkness. See how the journey of the lightning bolt looks across the pitch-black night sky and How it remains stable both during flight and upon landing. The arrow must be thoroughly blazing before launch, so that it does not go out during flight. Well then. Yeah, well. The arrow glows beautifully throughout the entire flight and continues to glow for several minutes after hitting the ground. It works. Their usability is sometimes criticized on the grounds that The rate of fire, firing arrows one by one, is painfully slow. No, this is not necessarily true if one happens to master certain historical arrow-handling techniques. The last arrow proved ineffective, extinguished, and disintegrated mid-flight. If there had been dry grass or forest floor over there, I'd think it would be on fire by now. This was compelling evidence of the strength of the ash tree in the construction of the sleds, but this was by no means all. We will now proceed to increasingly challenging performances. This is our test field for the upcoming test scenario. I have a few of these wooden plaques here, which we're now going to light up, just like the one shot by the arrow that set fire to the pine trees. These are relatively tightly packed and may correspond to how a wooden or food cover might receive a fire poker. The barn's entrance is over there; this goes there, and I'll shoot roughly from here, maybe at most 15 meters away. Since those fireplaces are fairly heavy and, of course, in no way accurate representations of regular fireplaces, this one should still be quite sufficient. In this test, I'm using this lightish manta rig, whose drag setting on the drag knob is probably around 45 to 50 pounds. To ensure the arrow strikes the target firmly, sufficient force is required. Since the manta straps are specifically designed to efficiently shoot arrows toward the target, I'd say this task will definitely work out. We'll just have to wait until night falls and see what happens. Now it is expected that the arrow returns properly, focus is placed on the shot and the target. Well then, the launch was a great success. The arrow sticks firmly into the target, which begins to catch fire almost immediately. This oil painting remains demonstrably ablaze. Task completed. Then the next one awaits. Well then, for the next execution and scenario, the difficulty level will be increased quite significantly. This time, the target will be placed on the ground. The idea is to fire an arrow shot from somewhere out there at a sufficient distance, hit this target, and preferably make it bounce back as well. Does that sound challenging enough? It sounds like it to me. I'll slightly increase the chances of success by placing a bit of dry grass around this target. No, we've got a bit of spare capacity here now, in case a sudden surge of demand doesn't come along. Since we're shooting in the dark, I'll put this candle on top so there's at least some reference point to aim at. Is it visible from here? About 20 to 25 meters away. In this scenario, I am using this Persian-style bow. This has a stiffness of 55 pounds at normal pressure, but since the inlet valves are slightly shorter, maybe around 45 pounds would come loose from this. We'll wait again to see how the evening turns and what happens. The small light source we see here is a candle reflected on top of the target. The same point is also visible in the center of the image here. That's where the arc blast originates, heading toward it. Yeah, okay. Yes, indeed, a pretty good shot and hit. The arrow descends gracefully near the outer edge of the target and stands firmly upright upon impact. Both the target and the surrounding grass will soon be on fire. Eventually, the burning arrow shaft falls in the wind, but the target remains unscathed. Our haastavin tulinuoli demonstration has thus been successfully completed. And one more shot is still waiting. Here it is again, our last shooting scenario. This time, the aim is not to ignite anything to return, but the shot is directed somewhere over there, toward the far side of the lake. Here we are testing how these flame jets behave and how far they travel. We'll tighten the spring a bit more on the stronger side. Use the thickest spring available in the house, and stretch the rubber band as much as possible. This here is an 80-pound bow. Yes, this is a significantly longer arrow than those used in previous shootings. It's long enough that I can stretch it up to the standard 32-inch pull length. There's a 75 mm wad coming off this string over there. This final test will determine whether the arrow remains on fire when shot from such a powerful bow. We hope that this will happen. And if it does, I believe it will also turn out to look quite impressive. See you in the next round. We'll send off the final arrow. In fact, a couple of evenings slipped by before we managed to capture this concluding moment. Meanwhile, snow had already come, but that doesn't matter for now. On the contrary. This is now just an even more atmospheric final shot. Yes indeed! The arrow stays on fire and flies brightly, streaking through the air even when shot with this bow. Excellent! Due to the arrow's weight and air resistance, the shooting distance remains moderate even with a powerful bow. When fired at the optimal angle, the maximum range could be approximately 60 to 70 meters. Within the framework of an efficient shooting journey, the power of the aspen's splintered arrow is thus demonstrably proven.